A Lot to Answer For
by Quillian
Summary: My first ever JL fic!  A look into what Amanda Waller might have been thinking after the events of that episode Epilogue... [SOME SPOILERS]


**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own _Justice League Unlimited_ or anything else part of the DC Animated Universe (or "DCAU" for short); it all belongs to DC.  
**ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER:** I don't own the movie _The Boys from Brazil_ or the book _Joshua, Son of None_ (the latter of which was written by Nancy Mars Freedman); however, I would recommend watching/reading either or both of them. They are mentioned in this fanfic for a the purpose of making examples and comparisons.

**SUMMARY:** This is a look into the thoughts of Amanda Waller, especially after the events of the JLU episode "Epilogue".  
**WARNING:** Spoilers to the JLU episode "Epilogue", as well as to the classic animated Batman movie "Mask of the Phantasm".  
**IMPORTANT NOTE:** This is my first-ever _Justice League_ or _Justice League Unlimited_ fanfic, so please be gentle. _(In fact, it's my first-ever foray into the DCAU at all.)_

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"**_A Lot to Answer For,"_**

_By Quillian_

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_I would like to thank **Lady Jaye1** for inspiring me with her fic "The Other Son" as I was writing this fic, where Terry McGinnis' younger brother Matt finds out the truth about the heritage… as well as for beta-reading this._

_I would also like to thank the marvelous **Agent-G** for his feedback on this._

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"Yeah… I've got a _lot_ to answer for when I meet Him…" –Amanda Waller, _Justice League Unlimited_, "Epilogue"

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After Terry McGinnis finally left, Amanda Waller went about reviving her security guards without trying to over-exert herself. 

Even if she wasn't doing too much physically, she was certainly doing much mentally, by thinking about this evening's events.

_Was all of that really necessary, Amanda?_ she kept asking herself over and over.

She wasn't lying when she said that she had a lot to answer for when her time came… but she also hoped that the good she had done helped to counterbalance all the bad she had done.

However… she just wasn't all that sure herself if "Project Batman Beyond" would qualify as a good thing or bad thing.

Her intent in that was good… but taking Bruce Wayne's DNA, making Terry McGinnis the son of Wayne and attempting to have his parents murdered… well, it was certainly one instance where the ends _did not_ justify the means.

In fact… it was only now that Amanda Waller really wondered if tampering with the young man's DNA really made a difference. Come to think of it… since almost no one knew that Bruce Wayne was once Batman, did it really matter if young Terry McGinnis had half of his DNA, and thus looked a lot like him?

As Waller herself had come to learn, it all came down to how someone _was_ and not how they _looked_, what with the whole "nature vs. nurture" thing. Terry McGinnis ultimately could have looked like anyone else, and still would have been the same through the experiences that molded him into who he was in the present day.

The more Waller dwelled on that aspect of it all, the more she realized just how clichéd and utterly pointless it was to do the whole thing with the rewriting of DNA.

Long ago, Waller had seen fictional stories of clones being made of famous and infamous historical figures alike, with genetic material being one part of the equation, and upbringing and experience being another part.

She had watched that old movie _The Boys from Brazil_, where former Nazis from World War Two made nearly a hundred clones of Adolf Hitler, putting them all through similar experiences over the years to ensure that they grew up like Hitler and would eventually grow up to replace the original Hitler. Ultimately, the Nazi hunter in the movie decided to give all those young clones a chance to live, reassured that their genetic material and origin did not automatically guarantee a repeat of the original Hitler.

She had also read that book _Joshua, Son of None_, where some a scientist collection some blood after the assassination of JFK with the intent of making the assassinated president immortal, so to speak. Even if the clone of the original JFK (the clone had the same initials), did it really matter in the end?

After contemplating about those two fictional stories, Waller remained even more convinced now that it truly had been pointless to tamper with DNA in this instance. What they said about hindsight always being 20/20 was certainly true, she decided.

If anything… the genetic tampering to make Terry McGinnis into Bruce Wayne's biological son might only have made things worse. All it would take was a simple DNA test from Terry, or even his younger brother, Matt McGinnis, to see that their genetic, biological father was really Bruce Wayne. _That_ could lead to quite a scandal down the road.

From what Waller could tell, Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis had been quite a bit surprised when their newborn son Terry had black hair, when his father had brown hair and his mother had red hair. It was a simple fact that in genetics, darker colors of human traits tend to dominate. In the end, they concluded that somehow, Terry must have gotten his black hair from a relative with black hair.

Just thinking about it made Waller all the more glad that her assassin had refused to kill Terry's parents that night years ago. What she had already planned and done was already unethical enough.

Even though she wouldn't have admitted it then, Andrea Beaumont (a.k.a. "Phantasm") was right in everything she said. This wasn't the way to do things. The whole thing had been wrong from the very beginning.

Sighing to herself, Waller silently prayed, _Please, Terry… don't let my past actions and mistakes prevent you from living your life. While Bruce and I may not have much time left on this Earth, you still have the rest of your life ahead of you._

That was just an addendum to the advice she had given Terry, and she liked to think that the advice she gave was wise and helpful.

She then added as an afterthought, _I'm not thinking this just so I can feel better and pretend that I have nothing to feel bad about in this situation… in fact, probably the only way _I _would feel better about all of this was if _you _came to feel better about it._

Years ago, she had decided to go with the two-step plan of making a new Batman, first through genetics and then through traumatic experience… now, her two-step plan was to try and fix it, first by revealing the truth and showing her remorse to Terry McGinnis and then hoping that her meeting with him would help make things better.

Waller's own words rang true in her head: The Lord has been a great comfort to her all these years, and she had a _lot_ to answer for when she met Him, but she also wanted to think that for all the harm she's caused, she's also done some good.

In fact, that was pretty much her plan for the rest of her life: To do whatever good she could in the world while she still had the time to do so.

Speaking of things to fix… Amanda Waller summoned her vacuum cleaning robot, intent on trying to fix that broken teacup.

She mused to herself, _After all the things I've done, for better or for worse, fixing this one broken cup can't be _that _hard to do…_

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A/N: So, what did you think of this? 

Note about the Phantasm: What did anyone else think about her return in that episode? I remember the first time I was watching it, I saw her and I was like, "_Hey, I remember that!"_ That, along with many other inside jokes and references, helped make that episode truly wonderful. (There's a nice article about the episode on Wikipedia.)

Well, that's it for this. For those of you who are interested, be on the lookout for any future fics I do in the DCAU! –_Quillian_


End file.
